Speaking on Sunday at the National Forum on Women Shaping Economy and Culture in Tehran, Mr Rouhani said: “We will not accept the culture of sexual discrimination.”

Mr Rouhani said women had an ‘impressive presence’ in all sectors of society

“Women must enjoy equal opportunity, equal protection and equal social rights,” he said in comments that were broadcast live on television.

“According to the Islamic rules, man is not the stronger sex and woman is not the weaker one,” he said.

‘Biggest mistakes’

However, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the highest authority in Iran, said in comments on Saturday that gender equality was “one of the biggest mistakes of the Western thought”.

“Justice is a right. But equality is sometimes right and sometimes wrong,” he said, according to his personal website.

He added that he did not oppose women’s employment, but that it should not conflict with “the main issue”, which was women’s role in the “family environment and household”.

The London-based human rights group Amnesty International said in its2013 report on Iran that women there “faced discrimination in law and practice in relation to marriage and divorce, inheritance, child custody, nationality and international travel”.

In May 2013 a constitutional body in Iran ruled that women could not run in presidential elections. However, women have served as lawmakers in parliament.

One Response to Iran President Rouhani urges equal rights for women

In recent years, the number of young Iranian women who have been admitted to universities has risen dramatically. In the last five years alone, Iranian women have made up more than 60 percent of university entrants. It’s a surprising development for the Islamic Republic. Experts say education has a strong social value for the country’s women, who see it as a way to gain greater freedom. But some Iranian officials have expressed concern about the trend.